Long Story Short

Long Story

So, you’ve swiped right on what seems like the woman of your dreams, her profile is brilliant and you’re positive the two of you will hit it off. You carefully craft the perfect message to get the ball rolling, press send, and then — you wait. Pretty soon, you realize it’s been a couple of days and at this point, it's unlikely that she will ever reply. Bummer.

Don’t worry, this is an all too common experience and it happens to the best of us. The good news is, there are some things you can do to improve your chances of finding a match and getting a reply.

Consider the age difference between you and your potential match. Is she roughly the same age as you? Maybe she’s a bit older or maybe she’s a lot younger? AskMen teamed up with online dating platform Zoosk to look into whether or not age influences your online dating success and turns out, it does.

It appears that men who message women their age or older get 4% more replies than the average. While men who try their luck with younger women get an average amount of replies back, that number drops 3% when the women they message are over 10 years younger than them.

Interestingly enough, only 13% of male Zoosk users reported being interested in women their exact same age, meanwhile, 44% of them are interested in women who are in roughly the same age bracket, and a whopping 59% like women who are younger than them.

Of that 59 percent, 13% of them like women who are more than 10 years younger than they are.

On the flip side, 56% of the women like older men. Of that percentage, only 14% of them like men who are 10+ years older. That’s a pretty significant gap and probably a good idea to give some thought to, whether you’re just browsing potential matches or entering a new relationship.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with experimenting, but a 10 year age gap in a relationship will likely present its own set of unique challenges sooner or later. Our advice? Swipe mindfully.

Dating by the numbers

Men Interested In Women

13% of all men like women their exact same age

44% of all men like women who are roughly their same age (within two years)

59% of all men like younger women. Of that 59%...

51% like women who are one to four years younger than them

27% like women who are five to nine years younger than them

22% like women who are more than 10 younger than them

13% of all men like women who are more than 10 years younger.

27% of all men like older women. Of that 27%...

100% like women who are one to four years older than them

Women Interested In Men

14% of all women like men their exact same age

45% of all women like men who are roughly their same age (within two years)

56% of all women like older men. Of that 56%...

56% like men who are one to four years older than them

30% like men who are five to nine years older than them

14% like men who are 10+ years older than them

31% of all women like younger men. Of that 31%...

100% like men who are one to four years younger than them

Men Messaging Women

In general, men who message women younger than them have an average reply rate

However, men who message women 10+ years younger than them have a reply rate 3% below the average

Men who message women older than them have a reply rate 2% higher than the average

Men who message women their own age have a reply rate 2% higher than the average

Women Messaging Men

In general, women who message men who are older than them have a reply rate 1% higher than the average ( about average)

However, women who message men 5+ years older than them have a reply rate 2% higher than the average

Women who message men who are younger than them have a reply rate 2% lower than the average

Women who message men their same age have an average reply rate

Own The Conversation

Ask The Big Question

Have you ever dated someone more than 10 years your junior?

Drop This Fact

For married couples, a 10-year age difference means you're 39% more likely to divorce than a partnership with a one-year age difference.